Beadle's Pocket Library No. 158

This 1887 Beadle and Adams weekly (Vol. XLIII, No. 158) presents "Deadwood Dick's Doom: Calamity Jane's Last Adventure—A Tale of Death Notch" by Edward L. Wheeler, serialized Western fiction. The narrative centers on the lawless mining camp of Death Notch, ruled by the gambler Piute Dave, where an Indian chief named Red Hatchet has vowed vengeance via a "death notch" tally system on the council-pole. Two performers—Miss Virgie Verner (vocalist) and Nicodemus Johnsing (banjo player)—arrive unexpectedly, stranded a week in the dangerous settlement. The local ruffians, led by Hank Shakespeare, plot to force a performance. Simultaneously, an unknown well-dressed man confronts an Indian girl named Siska in an isolated gulch. The narrative balances action between the trapped performers and mysterious encounters suggesting broader danger.